The Ghost of What Could Have Been
by Alison May
Summary: If the Cylons hadn't attacked and circumstances had been different, Lee and Kara might have met in a very different manner.


_This is an AU story of sorts. It is my take on how Kara and Lee might have met, had circumstances been different than the series. In this story the Cylons never attacked. One shot story._

**The Ghost of What Could Have Been**

Lee Adama liked to work as a bartender. Most of his employees didn't understand why as the owner of a prosperous bar he would have any interest in serving drinks at all, but as he was responsible for their pay checks, they could really complain. And since he was friendlier and more effective than most of his workers, there was really no reason for him to stop.

Lee was happy on this particular night. The bar wasn't uncomfortably crowded but business was steady and it was still early. He would make plenty of money tonight. Lee's attention was diverted from the regular customer he was chatting with when a striking blonde woman entered the bar followed closely by a tall lean brunette man. Despite the fact that the blonde wore a slinky dress and the man was dressed casually in civilian clothing something about the pair shouted military. Lee stiffened slightly; he disliked military types in his bar. When looking for a location to open his bar he specifically chose an area of Caprica far from any military base. In addition, his bar was cleaner and generally less smoke-filled than the ones the pilots preferred.

Lee couldn't shake the feeling that the couple was both in the military. It made sense with the man. His body was tall and lean and slightly tensed in a way that indicated he was ready to spring into action. Even his closely cropped hair screamed military haircut. It was the woman that had Lee puzzled. She was slim but powerful looking and she too seemed tensed with an energy that could explode at a moments notice, yet she possessed a vulnerable quality that was at odds with the rest of her.

However the blonde and the man didn't seem to be looking for a fight or any kind of disruption. Instead they began dancing on the sparsely populated dance floor. They moved closely with an intimacy that was impossible to miss. The blonde danced with such an air of comfortable sexuality that Lee found it impossible to look away. Lee noticed the eyes of several of his male patrons were following her seductive dance as well. While the blonde's male companion seemed aware of all the attention they were attracting he didn't give off the possessive vibe that many men would have projected in his place. Instead he let the fact that the woman's focus was entirely directed at him speak for itself.

For her part, she seemed oblivious to the stir she was causing and this caused Lee to chuckle slightly. Usually the most beautiful woman in the room was more than aware of the fact, but this woman seemed truly oblivious. After several songs the rest of the bar seemed to be on the dance floor as well, although the couple in the center never gave any indication of noticing this, and moved toward the bar. When they landed at the far end of the bar one of Lee's female employee's immediately started flirting with the tall man but the couple seemed to pay the attention no mind. Once again Lee smiled. Suddenly the late night rush of customers arrived and caused Lee to cease his observation of the couple, although he was vaguely aware that after several drinks they had returned to the now crowded dance floor.

So much later in the night it came as a surprise when Lee looked up from the bar to see the blonde staring at him with an intensity that he couldn't distinguish. The man appeared behind her and for a moment he looked between the two and Lee thought he saw a fleeting glimpse of something like annoyance cross his face.

"Kara, where did you put your purse?" the man asked the blonde. She didn't divert her eyes from Lee's face but pointed across the room, to a table the couple had been sitting at earlier. The man shook his head slightly and threaded his way slowly across the crowd toward where she was pointing.

After a long moment of eye contact, the woman finally spoke.

"You're Zak's brother, aren't you?" she asked with a slight tremble in her voice

"Kara…You're Kara Thrace?" Lee responded.

"He always wanted me to meet you. Said that you were the best brother he could have asked for," she said, as she suddenly found herself unable to avert her gaze.

"I saw you at his funeral. That's why I haven't been able to take my eyes off you all night," Lee suddenly realized. Yet he still felt a striking attraction to her that could not simply be accounted for.

"I…you…look so like him," Kara said and looked so unsteady on her feet that for a moment Lee thought she might actually end up on the ground. He reached out and grabbed her arm, and then instantly regretted it. A bolt of electricity seemed to pass through her and into his body. He felt like he would not be able to let go of her even if he wanted to.

"I miss him. I was going to marry him," Kara almost whispered and Lee found himself leaning even closer to pick up her words. And then she did the unexpected: she closed the distance between them and touched her lips to hers. For Lee found himself immovable and speechless. He simply returned her kiss and held on for dear life. Just as suddenly as it happened they pulled apart. As Lee gazed at her face a million sentiments were written there. Sadness, regret, attraction, remorse and a strange affection flickered and were quickly gone.

Kara's companion startled them both by speaking. "Lets go, Kara." Vocally he didn't betray when he had returned, but the challenge in his posture made Lee certain that he had seen the kiss.

"I…" Lee and Kara both attempted to speak but overlapped. Kara giggled slightly awkwardly and smiled.

"Goodbye," she told him with a degree of stability Lee wasn't sure he could have summoned at the moment. She didn't turn as her companion led her out of the bar, but Lee's gaze followed her progress across the room.

One of Lee's workers wondered over and gave Lee an appreciative whistle.

"He may have taken her home but you got one hell of a kiss, man. Is she an old flame?" he asked.

"No," Lee answered simply, refusing to supply any further information. His employee shook his head disbelievingly and went back to work.

Lee smiled slightly to himself. It seemed that Zak had picked quite a woman. And Lee knew just as surely as she had kissed him, she would be back.


End file.
